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MG MGA - If I remove both....??????

If you removed both w frt wheels and then both ball joints and bellows covers from your R&P....would it then be possible to remove the rack just by turning the steering wheel??? And if it came out could it be re-installed using the reverse method.

This is possibly the dumbest question I have ever asked but I need to R&R the inner rack ball joints and do not look forward to having to remove the steering coloumn...which means removing the carbs....which means etc. etc. ect.
Gordon Harrison

Nope - pinion has to come out for the rack to fall on your foot! And the ball housings too, which leads to the idea that you might remove the ball housings in situ. Never done it but if they are not really stuck it's worth a try. I've always done them by taking the entire assembly out, since there is usually lots of crap in the system from a long hard life, and there is no way to clean and check everything if it's not out.

FRM
FR Millmore

Gear teeth do not go all the way to ends of the rack, so you have to remove the pinion shaft before the rack comes out. You only need to remove one inner ball joint, after which the rack can slide out the other direction. You can remove and rebuild inner ball ends without removing the rack rack from the housing. You don't need to remove the pinion shaft or rack if all you're after is rebuilding the inner ball joints.

You can disassemble everything without dismounting the rack housing from the frame. That may be useful for people needing to clean grease out of the housing before installing gear oil.
Barney Gaylord

Barney, I'm replacing the rack boots and the tie rods this christmas. I didnt want to pull the steering rack out to remove the old grease.....but if i add the oil once its finished would the grease disolve into the oil over time and not be a problem.
DJ Lake

If it had broken boots and got dirt inside, you need to clean it out regardless of what oil or grease was in it before. If it is only a matter of having clean grease inside, I'd be inclined to "rinse it out". Yes, grease will dissolve in oil. I might fill it with as much oil (or mineral spirits) as will fit inside, run it back and forth repeatedly to circulate the oil from end to end, disconnect big ends of the boots to drain the sludge, then reinstall boots and fill with the prescribed 6 ounces of gear oil.
Barney Gaylord

This thread was discussed between 19/12/2009 and 27/12/2009

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